Périgueux’s grades pull in different directions. Safety lags (D): an average of 17.1 recorded violent incidents and 23 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. A 70 m² home at the median €1,805/m² costs 5 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Périgueux. Where it does best is walkability (A+) — 99% of residents live within 800 m of a bakery, and 34% of working residents walk, cycle or take public transport to work. All told, that adds up to a C+ overall, better than 38% of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #22 of 27 in Dordogne. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools and B− for health.
Figures: amenities, INSEE BPE 2025 · commuting, INSEE census 2023 · recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025).
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Périgueux with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Périgueux.
Work & commuteJobs & income C
Périgueux has higher unemployment than Dordogne’s towns or compared French towns: 16.3%
Median disposable income comes to €23,070 a year per consumption unit. Per resident in work, Périgueux counts 1.9 jobs (22,150 jobs, 11,650 workers). No commute at all: 4.5% of working residents in the town at the census.
34%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving60%
On foot21%
Public transport7%
Bicycle6%
Motorbike or scooter2%
22,150
jobs based in Périgueux, 1.9 per working resident
16.3%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€23,070
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
A+
Walkability: better than 97% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Crime per resident in Périgueux runs higher than in 95% of compared French towns
Périgueux ranks last of the 27 compared towns in Dordogne on the Safety Grade. In 2025, 1,178 offenses were recorded in the town. Of the graded crimes in the town, criminal damage came up most often (2025).
17.1recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearDSafety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Criminal damage415
Family violence262
Other physical violence161
Theft from vehicles113
Sexual violence103
Burglary66
Vehicle theft58
Theft without violence386
Drug use332
Fraud221
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
17.1
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
23
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
1,178
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
0.1%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For armed robbery, the count isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in a year of the last three), so the index uses the département’s average, 0.1% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
History
Périgueux: 45 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
15% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Dordogne’s towns (12%) and compared French towns (7.4%). Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2018. Most of the list is houses and mansions: 34 of 45. Among the classé monuments in Périgueux is Château Barrière.
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living B+
Périgueux gets a B+ for cost of living
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses sell for €1,869/m² in Périgueux, apartments for €1,776/m². Behind the median of €1,805/m²: 1,498 houses and apartments sold in the town between July 2023 and June 2026. The estimated advertised rent is €10.26/m² a month, close to Dordogne’s towns (€10.18/m²) and below compared French towns (€12.41/m²).
€1,805/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Périgueux€1,805/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Dordogne median€1,680/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€1,869/m²
553
Apartments
€1,776/m²
945
€10.26/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€8.10 to €12.99/m² a month)
5
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€10.44/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€25,170
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Périgueux
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Périgueux skews young, with 16% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than in both Dordogne’s towns and compared French towns
11% are under 15, below both Dordogne’s towns (13%) and compared French towns (17%). Over-65s are 25% of the population. Degrees are held by nearly a third of adults.
44.6median age
PérigueuxDordogne medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
16%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP23%
Baccalauréat21%
Higher education32%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 87 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Dordogne 52.7%, France 51.8%.
INSEE, census 2023 · Dordogne median and France median: the median of compared communes
Schools
88.4% of candidates passed the brevet at the eight collèges within 5 km, 1.5 points below the expected rate
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
School results put the town #15 of 27 in Dordogne. The bac pass rate near Périgueux is 94.2%, close to Dordogne’s towns (94.1%) and above compared French towns (92.9%).
96%passed the bac (general and technological)B−School Grade
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
HealthHealth B−
Allowing for age and care homes, deaths in Périgueux run higher than in 51% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Périgueux has 38 family doctors. Its three care homes for older people (626 places) count their residents as Périgueux’s; allowing for them, deaths were 12% below expected. France’s death rates at each age would predict 3,764 deaths in the town from 2016 to 2025; there were 3,893, 3% more. In Dordogne, women can expect to live 85.2 years and men 79.6 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France.
−12%deaths against expected, after care homesB−Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw103
Adjusted88
Median town88
Expected100
38
GPs in Périgueux · 4.2 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
0.4 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Polyclinique Francheville
0.7 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Perigueux
85.2 · 79.6
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Dordogne, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Château Barrière: Photo: Père Igor · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tour de Vésone: Photo: Etiennekd · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vestiges de la citadelle gallo-romaine de Vésone: Photo: Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vestiges de la villa gallo-romaine, dite villa des Bouquets: Photo: Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.0
Charles Ardant du Picq: Unknown artist Unknown artist, Public domain · Guillaume-Joseph Chaminade: Afetism, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Simone Mareuil: Jennifer Mei, CC BY 2.0 · Jean Murat: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Aimé Clariond: Studio Harcourt, Public domain · Sem: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain
Périgueux’s neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Périgueux
Is Périgueux safe?
It grades D for safety. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 66 burglaries and 415 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Périgueux good?
They grade B−, better than 48% of compared French towns and #15 of 27 in Dordogne. The lycée stands out: 99% of 186 candidates passed the bac at Lycée polyvalent Albert Claveille in 2025, 2 points above the expected rate given its pupils’ backgrounds. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Périgueux expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most compared French towns: the median sale price from July 2023 to June 2026 was €1,805/m², against €2,430/m² for the median of compared French towns. Incomes are lower than in most compared French towns too, so Périgueux grades B+ for cost of living.
About Périgueux
Commune in Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Périgueux is a commune of 29,055 people in the Communauté d'agglomération Le Grand Périgueux. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.
